How Family Matters Can Convert Indecisive Sellers
No matter where property prices and interest rates may be, some homeowners have tremendous difficulty making the decision to sell. They're confronted by daily headlines about the financial aspects of buying and selling, which makes it easy for them to forget about the factors that are more important to them.
A 2023 NAR report found that the top reasons for selling a home are all related to family and lifestyle changes. Homeowners realize they want to be closer to other family members instead of a yearly holiday visit, or that they're ready to start a family of their own.
While it's tempting to discuss financial advantages with potential sellers, you may have a much more fulfilling conversation if you ask them about their family ties. Living closer to parents and siblings may be more important to them than they realize.
Having a potential financial scenario ready for these prospects can be helpful, especially when you realize they're considering a move. This is when I can help. Contact me to discuss possible strategies for these sellers, including estimates of their equity and how it can make their next move more affordable.1
Flood Insurance Deadlines Causing Concern
Would-be homebuyers have been waiting for a Federal Reserve rate cut, which is expected to happen later this month. However, another problem looms: the possibility of flood insurance disappearing.
The reason for this? The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) needs to be reauthorized by September 30 to continue to issue new policies or increase coverage on existing policies. Some buyers have already postponed their plans because of this news, as finding financing that requires flood insurance could be nearly impossible if the NFIP extension doesn't happen.
A long-term problem with the NFIP is its debt. The program is currently over $20 billion in the red, with a portion caused by Hurricane Katrina almost 20 years ago. Lawmakers are looking at ways to reduce future claims, including encouraging communities to not rebuild in flood-prone areas, while issuing a series of stopgap bills to extend the NFIP program.
NAR's VP of policy advocacy, Bryan Greene, commented:
"This has been an issue now for many years where the program faces expiration and Congress, [at the] last minute, reauthorizes it. We're trying to prevent natural disasters, but we seem to always face this potential man-made disaster of not acting timely enough."2
Instagram Launches Comments for Stories
Earlier this week, Instagram introduced another way to encourage more interaction between users and followers. Your followers can leave a comment on your Stories posts which will be visible to others who view the same content.
Stories comments are displayed along the bottom of the frame, above the function controls and viewer details, so they're not intrusive.
Previously, Instagram introduced the Notes tool, which enabled users to leave conversation prompts at the top of the inbox tab. While Notes has been a big hit, most users are teenagers.
If you prefer, you can also switch off Stories commenting, but allowing them could be a good way to boost your reach by generating more engagement with your content. The default setting for Comments only allows followers who you follow back to comment, but you can change this setting to allow all followers to leave one.3
Rates Are Down...So Why Aren't Buyers Buying?
Pending home sales fell 6.9% during the four weeks ending August 25, despite the median monthly U.S. housing payment falling to its lowest level since February. So what's going on with buyers?
Many are waiting for one or more of the following situations to resolve or improve.
Current home prices. Even though monthly payments are declining, home-sale prices are just a few thousand dollars shy of early July's record high. That's partly because inventory is losing momentum and homes for sale are still scarce in some areas.
Lower mortgage rates. Some homebuyers are hoping mortgage rates will decline more than they already have after the Fed cuts interest rates in September. However, if rates do drop significantly, it may trigger higher home prices and more competition between buyers.
The November presidential election. Some are hesitant to make a big purchase amid this year's political uncertainty. They believe the outcome of the presidential election could change the course of economic, housing and other policies.4
Super-Charge Your Facebook Presence
If you specialize in a certain niche, promote it. Buyers who need assistance with a condo, vacation home, or their first purchase will feel considerably more secure contacting an agent who's handled plenty of similar transactions.
Launch a Facebook Group for your territory. It doesn't have to be all about real estate; instead, zero in on potential home buyers. One agent founded a Facebook Group for moms in her area and has ended up managing several transactions for other group members.
Review other agents' Facebook pages to see how yours measures up. Does yours need an updated cover photo (the rectangular photo across the top of the page)? Have you set up an automatic response for anyone who leaves a message? Do you post weekly, with photos? Photos boost readership.
View your page on your mobile phone. If certain photos or aspects look distorted, you'll want to fix these, as 81.8% of Facebook users view the site on their mobile phone.5
Sources: 1keepingcurrentmatters.com, 2cnbc.com, 3socialmediatoday.com, 4redfin.com, 5theclose.com
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